More on supplements...

The New Scientist article I referred to requires a subscription so here is another article which argues pretty much the same thing:

bigthink.com/21st-century-s...

[wilsond]

Tend to agree with this,I see food as medicine as well as pleasure.As part of my former teaching role,nutrition was quite a large percentage.It was interesting to hear comments from learners on how they saw food.

we were not meant to take our essential needs from artificial means!

[Hidden]

I’ve forgotten how many times over the years I’ve read similar - probably ever since I did my degree in Biochemistry back in the 70s when it was known then that taking multivits was a waste of time for most as all you’ll do is pee them out! but it seems the message doesnt get through and glossy advertising still wins. sure, there are a few with dietary or metabolism deficiencies who benefit but the vast majority of people do not need vitamin supplements.

[ILowe in reply to Hidden]

That is what I used to think, that anyone with a diet with plenty of vegetables and fruit does not need to supplement with vitamins and minerals. I am slowly changing my mind, case by case. Some doctors and researchers see it otherwise. See for instance orthomolecular.org/index.shtml

1/ Modern production of foods mean they are (sometimes) deficient. Hence for instance the promotion of Magnesium supplements by cardiologists

2/ The clearest example is vitamin D, even the medical establishment has largely come round now to seeing this as important -- we do not get enough from diet or sunlight.

[Finvola in reply to ILowe]

I agree that there is a strong case for certain supplements such as Vit D in our cloudy UK climate and given the fact that much of our supply of fruit and veg is grown intensively on depleted soil and in greenhouses.

Farmers locally have to supplement sheep diet with magnesium as the grass cannot supply enough for their needs.

Scattergun tactics with multivitamins is a multi million pound industry, so it’s very unlikely to be the answer for our health.

[CDreamer]

I also agree with the uselessness of taking multivitamins AND ensuring you take what you lack so taking supplements off the shelf, without professional guidance. Nutritional guidance is essential.

[nikonBlue]

hey guys, what about things like glucosamine sulphate for joint pain? I have found in the past that if I run out my pain increases within a few days....or am I being bamboozled about it and should I ditch it? I've often thought of doing exactly that with ALL my meds!!! Very interesting topic for sure.

stay well all

Blue

[MarkS in reply to nikonBlue]

I used to take glucosamine, sometimes with chondroitin, and found in the end it didn't work for me. Muscle exercises for my knees were a lot more effective. There have been a lot of RCTs for glucosamine and none have shown it works.

[Auriculaire]

Some supplements are not vitamins which can be obtained from food but things that the body produces and produces less of as we age eg Co enzyme Q10. Anybody who takes a statin will be deficient in this as it is made in the liver on the same metabolic pathway as cholesterol. This substance is essential for the functioning of our mitochondria. Some minerals such as iodine ( essential for thyroid function) are hard to obtain unless one eats fish especially as salt is frowned on these days. Many people have nutrient poor diets eating very little real food and relying on rubbish made in factories. It is a sad fact that those who have money to spend on supplements probably need them the least.

[Franny50]

I'm sorry, but I strongly disagree. I am a 69 year old, 15 year survivor, of Stage 4 cancer, and have been taking at least 25 different supplements (including Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, Curcumin, Resveratrol, Quercetin, NAC, Carnitine, potassium chloride from NO SALT, magnesium, Co-Enzyme Q-10, garlic, etc. on a rotating basis for all of those years, with absolutely no negative consequences. I have a blood panel done annually and it's usually near perfect, including HDL, LDL, VLDL, etc. I take no Pharma meds, after my July ablation, except aspirin. Atrial fibrillation was the one problem I was unable to solve, even by supplements and weight loss, but the ablation seemed to do the trick (knock on wood.)

The article you linked to sounds almost word for word like the generic articles I have read over and over again through the years, planted by pharma in every media outlet that will publish it, including NYT, Alternet, etc. But these two, at least, have stopped publishing these boilerplate hit jobs against vitamins and supplements in the past couple of years. So now they are popping up again in various reaches of the internet.

[fortunata in reply to Franny50]

Well said, Franny50!!